The Pentagon wants $678 million to refuel a single aircraft carrier

The Pentagon just submitted
its proposed budget for the upcoming 2016 fiscal year. Along
with new system acquisitions and larger base budgets for the
service branches, the Pentagon has set aside well over half a
billion dollars for the refueling of an aircraft carrier.

The budget includes a request for
$678 million for the refueling of the USS George Washington
aircraft carrier, according to Politico. This particular funding
request was not in the Pentagon's proposed budget for the
previous fiscal year but was included after being added in by
Congress.

The refueling of the USS George Washington is such a costly
undertaking because the aircraft carrier is powered by two
A4W nuclear
reactors. These two reactors, according to
The Encyclopedia of Ships, power four propellers which
produce a maximum speed of 30 knots. Each reactor produce
approximately 550 megawatts of power.

The reactors aboard the George Washington contain enough nuclear
fuel to
fully power the ship and all of its onboard needs for
approximately 20 years. First commissioned in 1992, the aircraft
carrier is close to nearing the middle of its service life and is
in need of an over $600 million refueling. So even if the refill
is costly, it only needs to be done once every couple of decades
or so.

The refueling of the USS George Washington coincides with an
overhaul of the ship that could take as long as four years.
Together with the refueling, it will prove to be a multi-billion
dollar exercise.

“There is extra effort that goes into preparing George Washington
for the overhaul,” Timothy Kuehhas, the captain of the USS George
Washington,
told Stars and Stripes.

The USS George Washington is one of 11 aircraft carriers in
service within the US military. The Navy has
defended its need for the 11 carriers on the grounds that a
large fleet size allows crew members to have adequate rests at
home while also enabling the US to project its air and naval
power around the globe.